School district looks at start-up options

The Marshall County School Board discussed various start-up options for the school year during the June 9 meeting.

Several options are possible, including a traditional start-up, a hybrid start-up, or a distance learning start-up. Teachers and staff had been surveyed asking if they were comfortable starting back in a traditional manner.

The Mississippi Department of Education has submitted possible solutions to the districts.

Whatever decision is made, flexibility will be a must.

A survey will be placed on the district website for parents to complete to help determine which students have access to internet and computers and if children would be able to participate in any/all of the possible start-up situations. The state may furnish a notebook for each student. If not, the district is working to furnish one for each student with COVID relief funds. Extra cleaning will be provided at each campus, including additional cleaning staff and disinfecting equipment.

The call to order was followed by an invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, the reading of the Mission Statement, the adoption of the agenda, and the approval of the May 12 regular board minutes. Board members attending were Les King, Mark Turner, Terry Cook and Lender Luse. The financial report, as explained by Emma Woods, financial business manager, was accepted.

The consent agenda items included: • deletions of broken, replaced or no longer usable fixed assets • permission to update the Child Nutrition Procurement Plan for purchasing for the 2020-2021 school year

• permission for Child Nutrition Department to participate in the Statewide Purchasing Program for dry, refrigerated, and frozen food and nonfood items for the 2020-2021 school year adhering to Federal procurement standard requirements

• permission to continue contracting with Millenium Consulting Service LLC for 2020-2021 school year from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, to provide network services

• permission to renew the general liability, commercial automobile and property insurance with Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance Company

• permission to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Region II, Communicare to provide mental health services and programs to the students of Marshall County

• permission to enter into Memorandum of Understanding with DeSoto County Schools for the 2020-2021 school year for Title I-A equitable services. The district of residence will provide a perpupil share of Title I-A allocation for each of its qualifying resident students attending a private school program

• permission to reimburse Holly Springs School District for equitable services provided to Marshall County students who attended private school for the 2019-2020 school year

• permission to submit to the Department of Education for approval of the vocational budget to be disbursed for salary, equipment, CTE classroom instructional aids and testing materials.

• permission to pay the following personnel for summer school (paid with Title V Federal funds) from June 29 through July 23, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 12 noon:

• acceptance of resignation letters from Jason Adams, teacher, Byhalia High School; Sam Lively, teacher, Byhalia High School; Shereda Hooper, teacher, Byhalia Elementary School; Megan Childs, speech, Mary Reid and Galena Schools; Regina Porter, teacher, Mary Reid School; Hanna Minor, teacher, Mary Reid School; Lukischa Lambert, teacher, Byhalia Elementary School.

• approval for employment of the following non-certified personnel for the 2020-2021 school year: Felita Chester, bookkeeper/clerical, Byhalia Middle School; and Kyla Malone, teacher assistant, Galena School.

• approval for Ernestine Jones, counselor assistant at Byhalia High School, to work extra days as needed to help close out the school year, registration and assist new counselor.

• approval for employment of the following certified personnel for the 2020-2021 school: Byhalia High School Samuel Che Casales, pending certification, Sheila Sims, Susan Morgan, pending certification; Galena School - Jor-

dan Haney, pending certification, Tammy Nix; Byhalia Elementary School - Jessica Hood, Gina Tindall; Byhalia Middle School -Tabitha Greer, counselor, Karen Jackson; Mary Reid School - MaLaura Woods, Holly Ormon; H.W. Byers Elementary School Ansley G. Coley; H.W. Byers High School - Monica Cowan, CTE Student Services, Stefanie Hoskins, counselor, pending certification

• permission to employ Tammie Sullivan as regional MDE literacy coordinator with salary reimbursed to district with Educator in Residency Federal funds.

• permission for school counselors to work 217 days for their school year.

• permission to pay the following at-will supplements for the 2020-2021 school year: Potts Camp High School - Julianna Garner, asst. softball, Heather Adams, color guard, Nickey Nance, asst. jr. high football; H.W. Byers High School - Fred Holland, 2019-20 school year and 2020-21 school year CTE supplement

• permission to pay coaches who participated in state competition the at-will supplement: Potts Camp High School - Luanne McGuirk, boys and girls' cross country, and Jeremy Dillard, boys' basketball, championship game; H.W. Byers High School Chris Daniels, boys and girls' cross country

• permission to enter into employment contract with board attorney, Lori W. Shaw, compensated with a monthly retainer with listed duties in contract and payment for all other duties that board may require representation, effective July 1.

• release of student from H.W. Byers Elementary School to Byhalia Elementary School was approved. Release of students from Marshall County Schools to attend Benton County Schools due to parent's employment was approved. Acceptance of student into Marshall County Schools from Benton County School District was approved.

• permission to purchase Canvas Cloud subscription from INSTRUCTURE to attain a districtwide learning management system was approved.

• request for approval of the pay scale for the position of child nutrition bookkeeper/central office receptionist, paid with child nutrition and district funds was approved.

• request for approval of update to policy code JCDAFF: Acceptable Use and Internet Safety; policy code IJ: Technology and Instruction/Electric Information Resources; and policy code IJ-R: Internet/Technology Acceptable Use Policy was approved.

• repairs to bathrooms at H.W. Byers were approved for renovations with bond funds. Some windows needed additional work requiring extra windows to be removed along with asbestos testing.

• permission was granted to broadcast graduations on 92.7 at a cost of $75 per graduation.

The superintendent's report included the following.

• The budget hearing for the 20/21 school year may be delayed. The state Legislature has not approved the state budget, therefore the district allocation has not been received. If budget hearing is done before allocation is received, it would simply be a guess. The deadline for completing the budget is normally August 15.

• The cost of repairs to the Byhalia Middle School gym floor is expected to be less than thought. Boards were cut out and no leak was found coming from underneath. It is expected that boards can be replaced and refinished for less than $10,000 and should be completed before school starts back.

The next scheduled school board meeting is July 14 at 5:30 p.m.